Many applications, including medical and dental applications, rely on data visualization to provide a holistic display of information and to maximize the amount of information that can be conveyed at once. In data visualization, a graphical mapping from an information space to a display space is performed. The process allows a user to visually explore the 3D representations or models of objects. The 3D models become much more useful when they are integrated, that is, when a number of related models are merged and overlaid to provide spatial context, among others.
For example, knowledge of the spatial relationships of the jaws, teeth and cranium is needed in various dental applications. Such relationships include the relative positions of hard structures (teeth and bones) and overlying soft tissues and skin. The customary types of physical record obtained by dental clinicians include photographs of the face (both extra-oral and intra-oral), X-ray images of the skull taken from different projections, and plaster study casts of the teeth themselves. Conventionally, most diagnoses are currently made using 2D photographs, 2D X-ray films and 3D plaster study casts.
A system integrates anatomical information from a plurality of sources of information. The system receives two or more three dimensional (3D) anatomical maps sharing a common plane specified by three or more marker points common to the two or more maps; and aligns the two or more 3D anatomical maps using the marker points.
Implementations of the system may include one or more of the following. The anatomical information can be stereo craniofacial data. One of the anatomical map is an X-ray map. The X-ray map is generated using correlated points on X-ray pairs and using y-parallax measurements. The X-ray information is stereo. The system can calibrate one or more X-ray sources. The calibration determines a principal distance from an X-ray source to a film plane. The system can also characterize internal dimensions of the one or more X-ray sources by locating an X-ray film relative to an X-ray source. One of the anatomical maps can be a 3D image map. Another anatomical map can be a dental map. Each marker can be a tie point. The system can also use discrete anatomical landmark information. The system can display the aligned maps as an integrated 3D anatomical model.
In another aspect, a method visualizes anatomical information from a plurality of sources by receiving X-ray information having X-ray marker information; receiving a three-dimensional anatomical information having anatomical marker information; receiving a three-dimensional teeth model having teeth marker information; aligning the X-ray information, 3D anatomical information, and the 3D teeth model using the marker information; and displaying the aligned X-ray information, 3D anatomical information, and the 3D teeth model.
In another aspect, a system includes an X-ray camera receiving X-ray information with X-ray marker information; a three-dimensional digital camera receiving three-dimensional anatomical information with anatomical marker information; a dental scanner to generate a three-dimensional teeth model with teeth marker information; a computer to align the X-ray information, 3D anatomical information, and the 3D teeth model using the marker information.
Advantages of the invention may include one or more of the following. The system improves the capability of orthodontic practitioners to develop diagnoses orthodontic treatment plans.
Through the use of markers called tie points, the system allows merging of multiple data sources such as X-ray images, study cast images or models, and facial images into a single unified coordinate system. Because the coordinate frame of reference is unified, two or more data sources that are not directly tied together can in fact be compared. For example, because the study casts are referred to the X-ray anatomic framework, and the facial imagery is tied to the same X-ray anatomic framework, therefore the study casts and facial imagery can be compared to each other, even though they are not directly tied to each other. Overall, the system also provides a uniform accurate coordinate system in three dimensions, meaning that accurate unbiased measurements can be obtained, regardless of subject orientation.
The system permits each type of anatomical structure to be imaged using an appropriate imaging modality and perspective best suited for locating that structure, after which all the optimal locations can be merged into a common 3D map by using tie points. The system is robust in construction, simple to operate and requires a minimum departure from the technician""s usual procedures. The user only needs to identify and locate landmarks, after which all measurements, computations, and integrations of data from different primary sources are made semi-automatically or automatically by computers and computer-aided technicians.
The ability to tie the data sources together opens up new diagnostic and treatment planning opportunities. The system supports a dynamic analysis of the functioning of the jaws, teeth, and musculature.